Radioactive nuclear waste: new interim storage facility approved

dpa/taz | An interim storage facility for low- and medium-level radioactive waste can be built at the decommissioned Krümmel nuclear power plant in Geesthacht. Schleswig-Holstein's Environment Minister Tobias Goldschmidt (Greens) handed over the necessary approval last Friday. The Ministry of the Environment announced that radioactive waste from the dismantling of the power plant, which does not generate heat, will be stored in the interim storage facility. The materials will later be taken to the Konrad shaft final storage facility in Salzgitter, Lower Saxony.

With the approval for the interim storage facility, all necessary nuclear permits have been granted in Krümmel, explained Goldschmidt. "We are absolutely on schedule. The nuclear phase-out in Schleswig-Holstein is taking another big step forward today."

Previous generations would have benefited from the benefits of nuclear energy. The legacy of this technology is a heavy burden for today's generation. “That’s why the highest possible safety is my absolute priority when dismantling the facilities,” said the minister. “Everyone involved in the dismantling of the power plant sites is providing an important service to the people of our country.”

The interim storage facility is operated by the Federal Company for Intermediate Storage (BGZ). Around 8,000 tons of radioactive waste from the Krümmel nuclear power plant are to be stored there. Since the waste is already in the facility on site, there is no change in the radiation exposure outside. The supervisory authority will check that the limit values ​​set in the Radiation Protection Act are not exceeded.

The environmental association BUND has repeatedly warned of the health risks to the population even after the nuclear power plant has been shut down and will continue to monitor the process. “We will continually check the wastewater for radioactivity,” says Ole Eggers, state manager of BUND Schleswig-Holstein, to the Tagesschau.

According to the Federal Agency for Final Storage (BGE), the Konrad shaft should go into operation in the 2030s, the ministry said. Only then can the nuclear waste from Krümmel be brought there. Mining in Krümmel is scheduled to be completed by 2037.